The arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on Thursday for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel will reverberate through that country, but it also raises questions for the United States.

If the international court believes that Israel may have committed war crimes in Gaza and engaged in a policy of deliberate starvation of civilians, then whose weapons were used? Which country protected Israel in the United Nations and blocked more robust efforts to channel food to starving Gazans? The answer, of course, is the United States.

President Biden in May denounced the I.C.C. prosecutor’s request for warrants and said that “there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.” But there is a moral equivalence between an American child and an Israeli child and a Palestinian child. They all deserve to be protected. We should not operate as if there is a hierarchy in the value of children’s lives, with some invaluable and others expendable.

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posted by f.sheikh

( This is the first genocide in which US is directly complicit in funding the genocided against our and International Laws. It is not just Netanyahu, but Democratic leadership is eqully liable for crimes against humanity. f.sheikh)

The United States government must stop blatantly violating the law with regard to arms sales to Israel. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Arms Export Control Act are very clear: The United States cannot provide weapons to any country that violates internationally recognized human rights. Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act is also explicit: No U.S. assistance may be provided to any country that “prohibits or otherwise restricts, directly or indirectly, the transport or delivery of United States humanitarian assistance.”

According to the United Nations, much of the international community and every humanitarian organization on the ground in Gaza, Israel is clearly in violation of these laws. That is why I have introduced, with colleagues, several joint resolutions of disapproval that would block offensive arms sales to Israel. The votes will take place in the Senate on Wednesday.

As I have said many times, Israel clearly had a right to respond to the horrific Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 innocent people and took 250 hostages, including Americans. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s extremist government has not simply waged war against Hamas. It has also waged all-out war against the Palestinian people. Within Gaza’s population of just 2.2 million, more than 43,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 103,000 injured — probably 60 percent of whom are women, children or elderly people. A recent U.N. assessment of satellite imagery found that two-thirds of all structures in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. That includes 87 percent of housing, 84 percent of health facilities, and about 70 percent of water and sanitation plants. Every one of Gaza’s 12 universities has been bombed, as have hundreds of schools.

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posted by f.sheikh

While Pope Francis has criticized the war before, this is the first time he has publicly suggested an investigation, according to excerpts from a new book.

Francis has privately used the word “genocide” to describe Israel’s actions, according to people who have interacted with him, The Washington Post has reported. But his comments to the journalist Hernán Reyes Alcaide, excerpted Sunday in the Italian newspaper La Stampa, are the first time he has publicly called for an investigation.

The pope spoke to his fellow Argentine for “Hope Never Disappoints: Pilgrims Toward a Better World,” a book to be released in Italy on Tuesday to mark the 2025 jubilee, when millions of Catholics are expected to visit Rome.

“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” Francis said. “We should investigate carefully to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/11/18/pope-francis-gaza-genocide-israel

(A lot of the electorate was soooo mad at the Biden/Harris administration’s policies in the Gaza war and decided not to vote Harris. Even though that may not have been the only reason for Harris’s loss it was certainly one of them. But people who expected an administration that would resolve or end the Gaza war and help the Palestinians seek their homeland will be very very sadly disappointed. Letting your emotions get into your voting decisions has its risks. Just look at the bio’s of Trump’s ambassador to Israel and his Middle East envoy, which I am attaching. It is from today’s NYT. So now the Palestinians went from frying pan to fire. Forwarded by Shoeb Amin)

Mike Huckabee and Steven Witkoff have both made pro-Israel statements. Here’s a closer look at the two men who will help shape Mr. Trump’s approach in the Middle East.

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s nominees to serve as top diplomatic envoys to Israel and the Middle East have little, if any, official policy experience in the region. But there is not much question about where their sympathies lie.

Mike Huckabee, a former governor of Arkansas who was tapped on Tuesday to be the next U.S. ambassador to Israel, has said that “there’s really no such thing as a Palestinian” and argued that all of the West Bank belonged to Israel.

His selection, which requires Senate confirmation, was widely welcomed by Israeli officials who oppose a Palestinian state, a longstanding U.S. goal.

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